Cover for moistening rollers for lithograph printing



March 12, 1957 E. J. GAY ET AL COVER FOR MOISTENING ROLLERS FOR LITHOGRAPH PRINTING 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 13. 1954 INVENTORS J EDWARD WILSON H. BRITTINGHHM B F'TTORNEY arch 12, 1957 J GAY ET AL 2,784,484

COVER FOR MOISTENING ROLLERS FOR LITHOGRAPH PRINTING Filed Aug. 13, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2' T a 1 a.

INVENTORS Eowmzo J GAY WILSON H. BRJTTINGHAM March 12, 1957 E. J. GAY ET AL 2,784,484

COVER FOR MOISTENING ROLLERS FOR LITHOGRAPH PRINTING Filed Aug. 15. 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 11 uuu Ti =Tl 7.

INVENTORS EDWARD J. Gav WILSON H BEITI'INGHFIM HT'T'OENEY United States Patent COVER FOR "MGISTENliNG ROLLERS FOR LIT HOGRAPH PRINTING Edward J. Gay, Westfield, N..J., and Wilson H. Brittingham, New York, N. Y.

Application August 13, 1954, Serial No. 44,538

4 Claims. (Cl. 29-118) 'Ourinvention relates to dampening rollers for moistening lithographic plates for printing and more particularly to the covers for dampening rollers.

Rollers of the above type are commonly used to moisten with water the surfaces to which the ink is not to adhere. These rollers are commonly covered with one or more layers of suitable fabric such as flannel, heavily napped fabrics known as molleton, moleskin, velveteen, plush, felt, muslin, etc., which are dampened and are then rolled in contact with a lithographic plate or roller to impart thereto the required surface moisture to the parts of the lithographic plate or roller with which it contacts.

Covers of the above type are of a cylindrical or sheathlike structure and are generally mounted either by hand or by mechanical means on the roller or on underlying layers of fabric in tightly stretched condition so as to present a smooth unwrinkled surface. The ends of the cover or sheath project slightly beyond the ends of the roller and must be turned over these ends and secured to hold the cover in position and to draw the cover to form a smooth surface unwrinkled either circumferentially or longitudinally or in any other direction.

Heretofore it has been customary to fold the projecting ends inwardly and stitch the folds together. Or these folds may be stitched together and to an underlying layer of fabric. This involves considerable time and labor and these folds may create uneven tensions in the cloth and impair the smoothness of the cylindrical surface of the cover. 'The folds themselves provide an uneven end sur face which is not desirable.

Another method of securing the. .ends of the cover is to provide holes through the projecting end of the fabric which may or may not-be reinforced by eyelets and through which a cord or string is passed and drawn to pull the cover inwardly. This method, however, has the disadvantage that these holes even reinforced witheyelets tend to weaken the fabric and frequently tear the fabric or pull loose so that the cover isnot securely fastened.

Another method which has been used is to fasten a cord on the edge of the end of the cover by a series of loosely stitched loops through which a drawstring is passed and drawn taut to pull the cover inwardly at the end of the roller. These loops also tend to tear loose.

Our invention provides a cover in which one or both ends thereof may be drawn tightly over the end or ends of the roller by merely tightening a drawstring thus avoiding the labor of stitching or of forming loops or holes and which draws the end of the cover smoothly and evenly and tightly over the end or ends of the roller.

In our invention we provide at the end of the cover, which may be of sheath-like structure with or without a longitudinal seam, a passageway encircling the end of the cover and in which is provided a drawstring. When the cover has been drawn onto the roller it is only necessary to draw the drawstrings taut whereupon the projecting ends of the cover will be drawn inwardly without 2,784,484 Patented Mar. 12, 1957 2 folds or puckers and lie tightly and neatly against the end of the rollers.

The passageway at the end of the cover is formed of fabric stitched to the outer side of the cover then turned and folded over the end thereof and stitched to the inner surface.

Another method of forming the passageway is to secure U-shaped clips closely spaced' in a series extending about the cover and passing the drawstring through the successive clips. These clips may be alternately of different lengths so as to hook into the fabric of the cover alternately at different distances from the edges thereof to distribute the stresses when a drawstring passing through the series of clips is drawn taut.

The various features of our invention are illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a part of a sheet of fabric from which the cover is to be formed and having a strip of fabric sewn thereon-near one end edge;

Fig. 2 is a section of the sheet of Fig. 1 taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view :of the same sheet showing the strip of fabric folded over the end and against the opposite face to form a passageway;

Fig. 4 is a section of the sheet taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the end portion of the sheet showing a drawstring passed therethrough, the drawstring in this case forming a double loop;

Fig. 6 is a sectiont-aken on line 6-6 of'Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an end view and Fig. '8 a side View of the fabric folded and sewed to form a sheath of fabric which comprises the cover, the sheath being inside out;

Fig. 9 is an end view andFig. 10 a side view of the cover when turned right side out;

Fig. 11 is an end view and Fig. 12 a section taken on the line 12-12 of Fig. 11, showing the drawstrings drawn taut to draw the projecting end of the cover inwardly against the end face of the roller;

Fig. 13 is an end view similar to that of Fig. 11 showing a passageway formed of U-shaped clips;

Fig. 14 is a side view of a portion of the fabric showing the manner of securing the clips to the fabric;

Fig. 15 is a longitudinal section of a portion of the cover showing the manner in which the clips are secured to the fabric;

Figs. 16 and 17 are respectively an end view and a side view ofa cover having a pinstripe longitudinal seam.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 1.2 inclusive, the cover of our invention is formed of a sheet of fabric 20 to which is stitched at one or both ends a strip of fabric 21' which is to form a passageway for the drawstring. As shown more particularly in' Fig. 2 the strip of fabric 21 is generally much thinner than the fabric 20.

After the fabric .20 has been stitched .as shown in Fig. 1 it is turned over the end edge of the fabric 20, as indicated in Fig. 2, and thence lies against the opposite face of the fabric. It is then stitched to the inner face of the fabric at approximately the same position as the stitching \on the outer face, that is, at the line 22, leaving a free edge margin 23 as shown in Fig. 4. This leaves a passageway 24 within the bight or fold of the fabric. A drawstring 25 is then passed through the passageway thus formed. Preferably the drawstring is brought around from one end of the passageway and passed again therethrough so as to form a double loop when the fabric 20 is made into a sheath or cover. The drawstring may be of a single cord or two or more as shown in Fig. 5'.

The fabric 20 is next folded to the form shown in Figs. 7 and 8 with the inner surface, that is, the one on which lies the free edge margin 23 outermost and the thin longitudinal edges are stitched with an overcast stitch 26. The

by the dotted lines in Fig. 10.

The sheath is now drawn over a roller 28 which may have a rubber surface layer 29. As the cover or sheath is drawn over the roller 28 the free marginal edge 23 comes against the end face 30 of the roller, as shown in Fig. 12, and anchors the cover against being pulled too far onto the roller. The edge of the cover extending beyond the seam 22 projects beyond the end of the roller. When the two ends of the string are drawn the projecting end of the cover is drawn tightly and smoothly against the end face of the roller as shown in Figs. 11 and 12.

Inasmuch as the tension of the drawstring is applied uniformly throughout the circumference of the passageway there is no tendency or opportunity for the cover to wrinkle or form folds or puckers. The tension is transmitted uniformly to the cylindrical sheet of fabric on the roller drawing it tightly and insuring against any wrinkling or unevenness either in a longitudinal, circumferential or other direction.

in the modification shown in Figs. 13, 1 4 and 15, a passageway is formed at or beyond the edge of the fabric by means of a series of longer and shorter clips 31 and 32 respectively which are hooked at their free ends into the end margin of the fabric 20 in such a manner as to provide a smooth even end in the passage. As the clips are of different lengths they hook into the fabric at different depths from the end thus distributing the tension over a wider margin and minimize any tendency for the end threads of the fabric to pull loose.

The clips 31 and 32 may of course be of different lengths on one side of the bight from the other so that each clip may engage the fabric at different distances from the end edge. The clips are closely spaced so that the tension applied to the fabric is distributed uniformly and not at widely spaced intervals.

The drawstring is passed through the channel or passageway formed between the edge of the fabric 20 and the bights of the clips and may be in a double row as indicated in Fig. 14. Upon the drawing of the drawstring or cord 25 at its opposite ends it tightens in a circle at the end of the roller drawing the fabric tightly inwardly over the roller, the drawn portion being inwardly from the edge of the innermost hooks of the clips.

As the clips are closely spaced there is substantially no opportunity for the fabric 20 to pucker or form folds between the clips as the drawstring is drawn taut.

In the modification shown in Figs. 16 and 17 the cover is substantially the same as that of Figs. 1 to 12 inclusive except that the longitudinal seam 33 in this case is of a type known as a pin stripe seam. This is formed by folding the fabric to place the fabric on one side of the fold on the fabric on the other side of the fold, stitching through the fabrics at a distance from the fold and on a 4 straight line parallel to the fold and cutting or trimming the fabrics to within a small distance of the seam, for example one-eighth of an inch, and then everting the sheet. The stitches are spaced approximately one-sixteenth of an inch. When ever-ted the fabric folds to a substantially flat or smooth surface.

Through the above invention we have provided a cover for dampening rollers used in lithograph printing which provides a smooth engagement of the end of the cover with the end of the roller. The cover may be inserted on the roller in the usual manner and then it is only necessary to draw taut the strings and tie them to secure the cover in position.

If the cover is made of a length fitted to the length of a roller the drawstring and passageway of our invention may be applied to both ends of the cover. If, however, the cover is to be trimmed at the place of use to fit the length of the roller then the passageway and drawstring combination of our invention may be used at one end of the cover.

Having described our invention, what we claim is:

1. A cover for moistening rollers for lithograph printing which comprises a tubular sheath of fabric, said sheath being open at its ends, at least one end of said sheath having a drawstring passageway about the periphery of its opening, said passageway being formed of a fabric thinner than the fabric of said sheath stitched to the outer face of said sheath near said end, then folded over said end and stitched to the inner face thereof, and a drawstring extending through said passageway and through an outlet in said passageway to permit said opening to be contracted by drawing the drawstring taut.

2. The cover of claim 1 in which said drawstring passes in two turns within said passageway.

3. A moistening roller for lithograph printing having a tubular cover of fabric, said cover projecting beyond the ends of the noller, said projecting ends being open, at least one of said ends of said cover having a drawstring passageway about the periphery of its opening, said passageway being formed of a fabric thinner than the fabric of said cover stitched to the outer face of said cover near said end, then folded over said end and stitched to the inner face thereof, and a drawstring extending through said passageway and through an outlet in said passageway and drawn taut to 'draw said end of said cover tightly over the end of the roller.

4. The roller of claim 3 in which said drawstring passes in two turns within said passageway.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,025,549 Thomson May 7, 1912 1,479,151 Moone Jan. 1, 1924 1,876,068 Musselman Sept. 6, 1932 1,908,399 Boland May 9, 1933 2,253,949 Castricone Aug. 6, 1941 2,257,864 Sheehan Oct. 7, 1941 2,323,580 Uhlig July 6, 1943 

